New data released this week by Kidney Care UK has revealed an alarming lack of knowledge about the main signs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with one in four (27%) people unable to identify the seven main signs of a loss of kidney function.
CKD currently affects one in ten people – equivalent to more than 7 million people in the UK – but 1 million of those are not even aware they have CKD.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes, but more than 70% of people with high blood pressure do not have an annual urine test for CKD. Furthermore, 45% of people with Type 1 diabetes and 32% of people with Type 2 diabetes do not have their annual urine test for CKD.
Unless urgent preventative action is taken to improve diagnosis and treatment rates, CKD is predicted to be the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2040.
That's why we are urging people who do not have a diagnosis of CKD to take five minutes to answer our online Kidney Health Checker to understand their risk and take action to prolong their kidney health.
Too many people are being diagnosed when their kidneys are already damaged. Find out how our Bloody Amazing Kidneys campaign is raising awareness of the signs of kidney disease.
The most common signs of CKD are cramps, itchy skin, dietary changes (food tasting different to how it does normally), nausea and/or vomiting, exhaustion, changes to your wee and swelling of your ankles/legs or face.
Our research also showed that:
- Over one third of people (35%) do not recognise that changes to your wee could be linked to kidney disease.
- More than three quarters (76%) do not realise that itchy skin is a sign of kidney disease.
- More than three quarters (76%) do not realise that muscle cramps are a sign that your kidneys may not be working properly.
- Almost two thirds (64%) of people do not know that a puffy face, or swollen ankles/legs can be a sign.
- Only half of people recognise that exhaustion is a sign of kidney disease.
We want to see at-risk groups screened for CKD as early as possible. Delay in the diagnosis of moderate to advanced CKD by just one year results in a 63% higher likelihood of kidney failure requiring costly and burdensome treatment to stay alive, such as dialysis or a transplant. This also has a significant effect on people’s mental health and on their ability to work. Whether people are identified early or late, there will always be a cost to the NHS; but by identifying people sooner, more can be done to prolong their kidney health, improve their quality of life and reduce the impact on health and other services.Fiona Loud, Director of Policy
While age-based screening is offered for people aged 40 to 75 via the NHS Health Check, only half of all people invited for the NHS Health Check take up the offer.
Innovations such as the new digital health check programme may make it easier for people to engage with their health. However, it’s important to note that people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes aren’t included in the health check programme.
We are concerned that a lack of symptom awareness amongst the general public, combined with a fear of not wanting to burden their GP, means that some people are at risk of losing as much as 90% of their kidney function without realising or taking simple steps to look after their kidney health. We hope that our #BloodyAmazingKidneys campaign will help raise awareness of the Bloody Amazing role kidneys play. By empowering individuals to take control of their kidney health, we want to ensure that more people are diagnosed sooner and ultimately never reach kidney failure.Laurie Cuthbert, Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications